The Baby Mission
by CurlyC28
Summary: When the Avengers have to care for an infant, Steve sees another side of Natasha Romanoff, the master assassin.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sorry sir… you want us to do what exactly?"

Steve Rogers stared at Nicholas Fury with a mixture of confusion and bewilderment. He could feel the other Avengers standing behind him and could imagine that all of their faces looked identical to his own. As part of the Avengers, he had gone on countless missions together, shed blood together, and saved the world several times over, however, he could not remember being this nervous before.

"I need you to protect Ambassador Johnson's son for the next 48 hours until the all clear is given and he and his father can be placed in protective custody. We have a strong reason to believe that this child here is a high priority target of Hydra and they will try to capture him in order to use him to lure out the Ambassador. Until we can get the Ambassador stateside, his son needs to be protected. That's where you come in. I need our best on this."

The high pitched cry of an infant suddenly filled the room and Nick leaned down and picked up the child from his mobile crib.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Are you for real, Fury? Babysitting?"

"I'm not sure I should be that close to a baby, you know, with the other guy and stuff…"

"Verily, I find myself uneasy with the thought of caring for a child.."

As they started raising their voices in protest, the infant, taking in all their unwelcome expressions, began to cry even louder. Nick patted the child on the back, trying to sooth him to no avail.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion! This is a mission!" Nick walked over to Steve and forced the baby in his hands. Steve held the baby awkwardly under his arms and looked at Fury.

"Sir, I don't think any of us are qualified-"

Suddenly the baby was lifted out of his arms as Natasha gently picked him up, a rare smile gracing her features as she cradled him. The baby instantly stopped crying and started batting the blood red strands of her hair.

"I've got this, Nick." She said in a sing song voice as she shook her head, moving her hair back and forth to the baby's delight. "What is his name?"

It took a second for the director of SHIELD to answer. The sight of his best assassin playing with an infant took him off his game. "Uh, his name is Jay. I'm canceling all other missions for the next 48 hours until we can get the Ambassador here. Here's his stuff and any other things you need will be transported to Avengers tower in the next 2 hours. Dismissed."

As the Avengers began to file out of the room, Clint smirked at Natasha. "Hey Nat, didn't know you were a-"

The loaded barrel of Natasha's favorite gun cut him off. Her eyes locked on to Clint's and her taunting gaze shut him up.

"Say it." Natasha dared him.

Clint didn't take the bait. He had just healed from a gunshot wound during the last mission and had no desire to revisit the pain of it all. He simply shook his head and looked away from her.

"Anybody else got something else funny to say? Stark, I know you usually have something stupid in your head that's begging to be said?" Her gun made it's way toward him. Tony raised his hands in surrender and made the motion that his lips were zipped.

Natasha reholstered her weapon with her free hand and proceeded to sling on the diaper bag and rocked the baby in her arms as she made her way out of the room.

The male avengers cautiously followed, Steve being the last one. The sight of Natasha holding an infant made his heart ache. Natasha was beautiful, there was never any doubt of that, but seeing her in mother bear mode was something else.

Something he wanted to see more of. He folded up the mobile crib, gave a nod to Fury and proceeded to follow the others back to Avengers tower.


	2. Chapter 2

The afternoon went by quickly when they all returned to Avengers tower. Steve hadn't seen Natasha at all since they left SHIELD HQ. However, the image of her with little Jay in her arms, and the soft gentle look on her face was so contradictory to everything he ever thought about the spy. He couldn't quite shake the image out of his mind, as he found himself dwelling on the subject all afternoon. She had taken the child to her floor, and after he had set up the mobile crib, he had made a hasty departure as JARVIS requested his presence in the lab. Tony and Bruce had kept him busy all afternoon and he had not had the opportunity to seek out the redhead at all.

It was very late, about 2 am, as he swung his legs over the side of his bed. Sleep was impossible. Not only had his thoughts been consumed with his red-headed teammate, but he kept having nightmares. Specifically, the nightmares consisted of watching Bucky fall from that train, and the 70 year nap he had in the ice. The helplessness of it all haunted him more than he cared to admit. He made his way to his kitchen, seeking out the comfort of a warm cup of joe. Realizing he was completely out, he sighed and made his way to the elevator.

_Can__'__t sleep anyway. May as well see if there__'__s any coffee in the main kitchen._

When the elevator doors opened, the low light over the stove was on and Natasha was perched on a kitchen stool, feeding Jay a bottle of milk. Her green eyes made contact with his as he walked into the kitchen.

"Can't sleep?"

"No. Nightmares."

She nodded and then pointed her head towards the coffee pot, the fresh coffee smell filling the room.

"Thanks." He pulled out his usual mug out of the cupboard, and poured himself a cup. When he glanced back toward her, she was staring at the baby in her arms, the soft smile back on her face.

"You're good with him." He whispered as he leaned on the counter across from her.

She shrugged. A wistful look crossed her eyes and just as quickly as it came, it was gone. If he hadn't been watching her so intently, he would have missed it.

"Babies like anyone who takes care of them." Natasha put the now empty bottle on the counter and sat the baby up, patting his back until a soft burp came out. She stood and rocked Jay in her arms slowly as she began to pace back and forth in the room slowly. Jay let out a giant yawn as he watched her.

"You ever thought of having a child?" Steve questioned innocently, bringing his coffee mug to his face, and missing the look of pain that crossed the spy's face.

"A kid isn't really in the cards for a person of my profession." Her answer was quiet and hard. Her tone caused Steve to look at her again.

"That wasn't my question."

A moment of silence passed between the two. The question left an aura of tension in the air that both of them felt. Natasha walked over to the bassinet that Tony had placed next to the couch in the adjacent living room and laid the now sleeping Jay in it. After tucking a blanket around the bottom of the bassinet and covering his legs, she looked up to see Steve sit on the couch. Knowing that she couldn't avoid the question, she sat across from him.

"I can't have kids, Rogers."

Steve blinked. "If you wanted to, no one would stop you. Even Fury wouldn't get in the way of you having kids."

Natasha laughed softly, her eyes locking onto hers. "You misunderstand me. I am physically incapable of having children." She paused as Steve's eyebrows shot up as he understood her meaning. "As part of my training in Red Room, they made it so I could never have children." She didn't explain further and Steve didn't pry.

"That sucks."

The anger in his voice took Natasha by surprise as well as his choice of phrase. She couldn't help but giggle.

Her laughter caught Steve by surprise as he too started to smile, her giggle being infectious.

"Don't dwell on it Rogers, I came to terms with it long ago. Maybe it's my punishment for all the lives I've taken."

Just as Steve was about to protest that thought process of hers, the building shook. Natasha immediately leaped up and carefully picked up Jay, cradling his sleeping form to his chest. Steve was on his feet as well, as he made his way to Natasha.

"JARVIS, what was that?" Steve questioned, his body tensing up.

"**My security protocols are being over-"**

As JARVIS was cut off, Natasha looked at Steve.

"Let's get back to your floor. I get the feeling you're going to need your shield." He looked down, realizing that he only had on his pajama bottoms and a white undershirt. Natasha pulled out a gun with her free hand, her grip tightening on the sleeping child. She was wearing a black sheer robe and some black pajamas. Seeing how light her apparel was, Steve blushed lightly as a question came to mind.

"You always care a gun?"

She smirked at him. "Never leave home without it. Let's go."

He nodded as they made their way to the stairs.


End file.
